Secondary menu

You are here

California city institutes new alarm policy

CHICO, Calif.—Starting June 15, this California city will no longer respond to unconfirmed burglar alarm systems in the city, according to a news release from the California Alarm Association.

For police to respond, a burglar alarm must first be confirmed as being valid by a security guard or another responsible party on the scene or through video confirmation of a break-in, the release noted.

The policy does not apply to manually activated panic or holdup alarm systems, the release said.

In a letter to local alarm companies, Chico Chief of Police Kirk Trostle wrote the following: “While we regret the need to move in this direction, it is important to note that the Department received over 3,000 false alarms in 2012, resulting in thousands of hours of unproductive officer and dispatch time. This type of unproductivity can no longer be absorbed given our limited staffing and the increase in calls for service.”